The Through Line: Spring 2015

Welcome to the spring issue of our academic e-newsletter, The Through-Line. On a quarterly basis, The Through-Line keeps you informed of the work being done by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

We hope you'll enjoy reading The Through-Line, and we welcome your thoughts, questions, and suggestions. Please get in touch with us at: katrinae@uw.edu.

A Different Kind of Season: Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends: Happy spring! It’s truly a bittersweet season here, as we celebrate the activity of all our students and faculty, even as we prepare to say goodbye to our graduates—22 undergraduate drama majors and nearly a dozen graduate designers, directors, actors, and PhDs. In a month and a half, we’ll proudly wave them on, even as we eagerly watch to see what they’ll make of what they’ve learned here. For me, approaching the end of my first year at the School of Drama, I’m coming to… Read more

April 14, 2015

Samer Al-Saber, PhD '13, directing "The Prophet" at Davidson College.

Scholarship, Community, and Truth—Samer Al-Saber (PhD ’13), Alumni Spotlight

Before beginning his tenure-track position at Florida State University this coming fall, Samer Al-Saber, PhD ’13, is finishing up a two-year Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Davidson College, where he has been teaching, directing, and continuing his research on Palestinian theatre in Jerusalem and the cultural history of the city through artists’ eyes. Back in Seattle to attend the American… Read more

April 13, 2015

Two Directors, Two Visions, One Play

On the eve of their main stage debut—a co-direction of William Inge’s Bus Stop—first-year MFA directors Malika Oyetimein and Sean Ryan sat down to talk about what brought them to the University of Washington School of Drama, Bus Stop, and what they’re looking forward to directing next. What brought you to the School of Drama? Sean: The UW School of Drama was one of the reasons I moved to Seattle in… Read more

April 14, 2015

On Pursuing an MFA and Being a Mother - Sunam Ellis

by Sunam Ellis This is not my first time as a graduate student. Several years ago I was in a Ph.D. Human Development program. I wanted to research marital relationships. But not really. It was my back-up plan. Theatre is, and has always been, my first love. The lure of a full-ride at a prestigious school, though—the promise of becoming Dr. Ellis—it was hard to resist. And I had a fire to succeed. After two semesters and a summer abroad, I had already completed a… Read more

March 26, 2015

More Than a Play—Mark Jenkins’ Red Earth, Gold Gate, Shadow Sky

For professor and playwright Mark Jenkins, the saga of bringing his Red Earth, Gold Gate, Shadow Sky to the stage is appropriate for the way it mirrors the episodic nature of the play itself. It started when friend, visual artist, and activist Don Fels invited Mark to Cambodia in the hopes of convincing him to write about the plight of Cambodian deportation. In Phnom Penh, Mark interviewed individuals who had grown up in the United… Read more

April 13, 2015

Recent Faculty and Alumni Achievements, Spring 2015

Alums Tommy Smith (BA '01) and Stasha Surdyke (BA '98) earned awards at the 46th annual L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards. Smith's play Fireman and Boston Court's production of Stupid Fucking Bird, in… Read more

April 13, 2015

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS

Bus Stop - MFA directing debut
by William Inge
directed by Malika Oyetimein and Sean Ryan
Floyd & Delores Jones Playhouse
April 22-May 3
More info

Extending a Hand: Gesture, Duration and the (Non)Human Turn
Lecture by Rebecca Schneider, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, Brown University
Organized by the Performance Studies Research Group
More info

Boy's Life - featuring undergraduate actors
by Howard Korder
directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton
May 27-June 7
Penthouse Theatre
More info

Designer Showcase
Featuring graduating designers from UW Drama, Cornish College of the Arts, and Seattle University
Save the date for June 8
More details coming!

School of Drama

The Through Line: Spring 2015

In This Issue:

KEEP IN TOUCH AND STAY CONNECTED

A Different Kind of Season: Letter from the Executive Director

Scholarship, Community, and Truth—Samer Al-Saber (PhD ’13), Alumni Spotlight

Two Directors, Two Visions, One Play

On Pursuing an MFA and Being a Mother - Sunam Ellis

More Than a Play—Mark Jenkins’ Red Earth, Gold Gate, Shadow Sky

Recent Faculty and Alumni Achievements, Spring 2015